Whether you’ve gained weight during the pandemic or would like some inspiration for other weight-loss goals, there’s no better inspiration than folks over 50 who have “been there, done that” — and kept the weight off for a substantial amount of time.
Here are three voices of experience, each of them older than 50 and with a total of at least 50 pounds lost. Each woman shared their experience and tips with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Ann Hedden, 79 of Watkinsville, lost 75 pounds
Ann Hedden is a retired registered nurse with three adult sons. She works for the Athens Bridge Club, directing the Friday game each week. In the years before the pandemic, Hedden took off 35 pounds at the rate of four or five pounds a year. She shed another 40 pounds during isolation totaling 75 pounds lost as of July 2022.
“It’s 74 and ¾ pounds, to be honest, but I round it up,” she said humorously.
When I realized I needed a change
“I had been trying to lose weight all my adult life. I yo-yoed; I’d lose some, gain some. I joined the nonprofit Take Off Pounds Sensibly first in 1980, but I didn’t stick it out. It was when we were isolated during (COVID-19) that I really buckled down. I could control what food I ate much better since we couldn’t go anywhere.”
Core actions
“One thing I have learned is that you can’t go on a diet to lose weight, because you go off the diet and it all returns. You have to change to eating habits. I’ve learned to have balanced meals and watch that I don’t eat too many sweets in between.
“The biggest news I want to share is that since I reached my goal weight, I have kept it off. It took me six months to lose that final six pounds. Since then I’ve been part of the maintenance group, Keep Off Pounds Sensibly, and I attend every week to weigh in. I feel strongly about being an example to the other ladies and being accountable, being able to say ‘below goal’ after I’m weighed. That helps me keep it up. If I get too close to my goal weight, I’ll tell myself, ‘Ann, this coming week, you’ve got to cut out the extras.”
“I credit TOPS and KOPS for my weight loss. At the end of our KOPS meeting, we have our pledge that we stand up and say to the room. The last line of our pledge: “I am to be an example as I keep off pounds sensibly.”
My top tip for older adults who want to be a healthier weight
“(To) anyone who asks my story, I say do not give up. I spent 40 years on this and I did it. Never give up!”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Kali Meister, 52 of East Ridge, lost about 50 pounds
A life coach, mystic, and caregiver, Meister lives with Billy Bradshaw and is a loving fur mommy to a pit bull, Emma Sue, and a chugweiner, Twig. Starting in July 2022, she has lost 48 pounds, with another three pounds lost and regained several times in past months.
When I realized I needed a change
“I’m diabetic and have hypothyroidism and I’d had a stroke and had trouble breathing and getting up and down from chairs. I was in so much pain I could barely walk and I was using a cane. When I went to vote in the 2020 presidential election I was so disabled they let me cut in the line — that was humbling.
“My father died when he was 40. He was tall and heavy, bouncing around from 200-400 his whole life. His early death made me feel like I was on borrowed time in my 40s... But it took my doctor being blunt in a compassionate way. One day she just looked at me and said, ‘Kali, if you don’t lose weight I fear you’re not going to be here anymore in a few years. I say this to you because I really like you as a person.’ I got in my car after that visit and cried. I went home and did more research and opted to do Noom. And that has worked for me.”
Core actions
“I’m really glad I’m doing Noom because it incorporates the psychology of weight loss. Every day when I open the app I’m getting lessons. I put every single thing I eat in that app. The foods are already in there, and the calories, and throughout the day I log what I’m eating, and tap the water gauge every time I drink 8 ounces.
“All my intake is recorded all the way back to when I started this past July. It’s intense and cool. I had no idea how much I was eating before, and how I was eating. I don’t feel like food is bad anymore — I just recognize that I had a bad relationship with food.”
Pressing on in challenging times
“Right now, I’m learning about urge surfing. When I learned that phrase, I nearly cried — it’s what I’d been looking for to get past cravings. A lot of what I want is just impulsive. If I can just look at the craving and think, ‘Is that real hunger or is that me wanting a box of cookies?’ then I can surf through the urge, ride it out.”
My top tip for older people who want to be a healthier weight
“Start. A lot of people think about it but you need to take action. Complacency is the enemy. Like me, I’d think, ‘I want to do something,’ but instead, I’d just sit on the couch. Until one day I did do something.”
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Margery Kellar, 72 of Atlanta, lost 70 pounds
Retired after more than 35 years as a social worker, Kellar is now a stained glass artist and serves on the board of the Atlanta Glass Art Guild and Rebecca’s Tent Women’s Shelter. She started her weight loss journey in December 2021.
When I realized I needed a change
“My motivating factor was that I was going to take a world cruise. I had been struggling with health issues related to obesity for years. I did not want to be on a cruise and have issues with my colon — what fun would that be? I also wanted to be able to have enough time to make the changes before the cruise, so I started two years before it was scheduled in December 2023. So often we put off weight loss until there’s not enough time to make a substantial change.
“I decided to contact LockedIN Wellness based on what I’d read about them in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and it just worked!”
Core actions
“Metabolic specialist Nancy Masoud helped me determine what was causing inflammation in my body and preventing me from losing weight. She helped me with a plan where I eliminated foods such as cow dairy and chicken from my diet, and sugar.
“I weighed myself daily and started drinking at least 60 ounces of alkaline water and 40 ounces of regular water every day. Within a week of cutting gluten and soy from my diet, my colon and stomach issues stopped and I started to take off the pounds, losing 70 in about 11 months.
“Even though I’ve lost the weight, I’m still following up with Nancy and I still use a lot of the vitamins from LockedIN Wellness. I continue to eat an omelet with vegetables for breakfast and protein and vegetables for lunch. I’ve widened my fruit intake to include seasonal stuff like melons in addition to apples and oranges. Those fruits weren’t conducive to losing weight but they help with maintaining weight.
“I found I needed to give up gluten and dairy at first, but now that my inflammation has healed I can eat them in moderation.”
Pressing on in challenging times
“Some days you have times where you have that piece of cake. If you could change the past, that would be great. Nobody can do that. If you have a piece of cake, you’ve done it. Go on from there.
“When you go to a party — and I go to a lot of parties— it’s really disappointing that you can’t sit at the table and eat everything on it. But if you have a taste for something and eat some, the next day, have less of some other things. There’s no sense in beating yourself up or quitting.”
My top tip for older adults who want to be a healthier weight
“I’d recommend Nancy Masoud at LockedIN Wellness to anyone who’s serious. It’s not cheap, so if you’re not ready to make changes, there’s no use contacting her and wasting both your time.
“And anybody at 50 or older, or the sooner you get started, the better. It doesn’t get easier as you get older and you’ll feel so much better when you lose weight.”
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